Oak Oak ([=o]k), n. [OE. oke, ok, ak, AS. [=a]c; akin to D.
eik, G. eiche, OHG. eih, Icel. eik, Sw. ek, Dan. eeg.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Bot.) Any tree or shrub of the genus {Quercus}. The oaks
have alternate leaves, often variously lobed, and
staminate flowers in catkins. The fruit is a smooth nut,
called an {acorn}, which is more or less inclosed in a
scaly involucre called the cup or cupule. There are now
recognized about three hundredspecies, of which nearly
fifty occur in the United States, the rest in Europe,
Asia, and the other parts of North America, a very few
barely reaching the northern parts of South America and
Africa. Many of the oaks form forest trees of grand
proportions and live many centuries. The wood is usually
hard and tough, and provided with conspicuousmedullary
rays, forming the silver grain.
[1913 Webster]